At the end of an NBA season, players are voted for seven different awards which include, the Coach of the Year, Clutch Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, the Defensive Player of the Year, and last but not least, the Most Valuable Player.
When a player or coach wins an award, they get to call themselves the best in that category for that season. At the beginning of each season, there are players we expect to be in the conversation for each award. For example, the last three seasons, the top three MVP candidates have been Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid.
Throughout the course of the season and near the end of the season, there are always players who we did not expect to be in the conversation for an award. Here are the top dark horse award candidates for each award.
Dark horse Coach of the Year candidate: Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic
The NBA Coach of the Year, the Red Auerbach trophy, is named for the coach that had the best season. Looking through the course of NBA History, the award goes to a coach whose team had the best record in the NBA, the coach of a team that greatly exceeded expectations, or a coach of a team who did a bit of both.
Last season, the NBA Coach of the Year went to Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings. He led them to a 49-33 record. The Kings were expected to be really bad, instead, they had the highest offensive rating in NBA history and made the playoffs. Brown became the first-ever unanimous coach of the year winner.
As we are going into next season, a lot of the favorites are coaches of really good teams like Joe Mazzulla from the Celtics, Michael Malone from the Nuggets, and Nick Nurse from the 76ers. The one dark horse candidate is Jamahl Mosley from the Orlando Magic.
Mosley has coached under Hall of Famer George Karl, Mike Brown, Rick Carlisle, and just recently coached along Steve Kerr, Tyronn Lue, and Erik Spoelstra for the FIBA World Cup. He has now learned from many great offensive and defensive coaches where he can incorporate that into his system.
Going into last season the Magic were expected to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference but exceeded their low expectations by finishing with a record of 34-48. Despite their bad record, in their last 56 games, the Magic had a record of 29-28 which was the eighth-best record in the East over that span.
Mosley did a great job of developing Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, and fixing up Markelle Fultz. For the Magic to finish last season as strongly as they did, for as young as they are, they'll exceed their expectations again. If they greatly exceed them, with Mosley leading the way, he has a great shot of winning Coach of the Year.
Dark horse Clutch Player of the Year candidate: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
The Clutch Player of the Year, the Jerry West trophy, was added to the NBA last season. It was won by De'Aaron Fox, who led the league in clutch points, had the highest field goal percentage of anyone who took more than 50 clutch shots and led the Kings to a 22-17 record in clutch games.
Since this award is new, it is really hard to get an idea of who the favorites should be for each award because it's extremely situational. Clutch time is defined as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points.
Since there is no telling of how many times a player will be in a clutch situation, it makes it hard to determine who will win the award. Oddsmakers have players like De'Aaron Fox, Kevin Durant, and Luka Doncic as the favorites but Jalen Brunson is the dark horse candidate.
Brunson found himself playing in 35 clutch games and he scored the fourth-most points in clutch time while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and an amazing 37.5 percent from 3. The Knicks went 19-16 in those games.
The Knicks were in 45 clutch games last year, and will more than likely be in a lot of clutch games this upcoming season. Brunson has proven to be clutch, and if the Knicks win a bunch of close games because of him, he could win the Clutch Player of the Year.
Dark horse Most Improved Player candidate: Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies
The Most Improved Player, the George Mikan Trophy, goes to the player who has improved the most. This award usually goes to a player who has played in their fourth season or later and becomes an unexpected All-Star. Last season, it went to Lauri Markkanen.
Players that put up solid numbers but then find themselves in new situations are favorites to win the MIP, which is why Mikal Bridges is one of the favorites. A candidate that a lot of people should look out for is Desmond Bane.
Last season Bane had a phenomenal year, averaging 21.5 points, 5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1 steal, and shooting 47.9 percent from the field, 40.8 percent from 3, and 88.3 percent from the free throw line. In most cases, it is hard for a player to win the MIP after playing this well and improving every season he's been in the league.
The reason he should be a strong candidate to win the award is because Ja Morant is suspended for the first 25 games and there is a good chance Morant misses more games due to injury. Bane averaged those numbers being the second option but for at least the first 25 games of the season, he is the number one option.
Bane has proven that he can average very good numbers. In Ja's absence, if he's averaging around 27 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, keeping his shooting splits, and the Grizzlies are still a very good team, Bane is going to be in consideration for the Most Improved Player.
Dark horse Sixth Man of the Year candidate: Christian Wood, Los Angeles Lakers
The Sixth Man of the Year, the John Havlicek Trophy, is awarded to the best bench player in the NBA. Last season it went to Malcolm Brogdon after having a stellar season and helping the Celtics finish with the second-best record in the NBA.
The main criteria to be in the conversation of this award is to have abundant and efficient production of the bench for a playoff team. Guards have been the main winners over the last decade but Christian Wood is going to make a very strong case this season.
Wood just signed a two-year deal with the Lakers and is planning to come off the bench to start the season. For the Mavericks last season, Wood averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists with 52/38/77 shooting splits while being their primary backup center.
Wood plans on being the leader of the bench unit to start the season with the Lakers. One area that the Lakers have struggled with was bench production and getting Wood is going to help tremendously with that.
Being a part of the most well-known franchise in the NBA and a team that is projected to be a top team in the Western Conference helps with being in the conversation for an award. If Wood puts up similar numbers to what he did last season, he is going to be a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
Dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate: Jarace Walker, Indiana Pacers
The Rookie of the Year, the Wilt Chamberlain trophy, goes to the rookie that puts up the best numbers that season. Last season it went to Paolo Banchero who averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and completely ran away with it.
The overwhelming preseason favorite for this award is the 7-foot-4m 2023 first-overall pick from France, Victor Wembanyama, followed closely by Chet Holmgren and Scoot Henderson. One player who has a chance of entering the conversation is the 2023 eighth-overall pick, Jarace Walker.
Walker is a 6-foot-8 power forward from Houston and led them to a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. In college he was great at creating his own shot, slashing to the basket, finishing with soft touch and could defend too.
Now that he is on the Indiana Pacers and playing alongside one of the best passers in basketball, Tyrese Haliburton, he is going to get a lot of opportunities to score. The Pacers have a lot of space which will open up lanes for him to get to the basket for easy points. Not only that he can be a great rebounder too as Myles Turner led the Pacers in rebounds with 7.5.
If Victor Wembanyama is everything people project him to be, it is going to be very difficult for anyone else to win this award. If Jarace Walker gets his opportunity and becomes a focal point of the Pacers offense, he will for sure enter the conversation.
Dark horse Defensive Player of the Year candidate: Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
The Defensive Player of the Year, the Hakeem Olajuwon trophy, goes to the best defensive player from that season. Most of the time the award will go to a big man as only one guard has won the award this century.
Last season it was won by Jaren Jackson Jr. who led a bunch of defensive stat categories. Going into this season some of the favorites are Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Davis, and Evan Mobley but one player that is being overlooked is Nic Claxton.
Claxton had a stellar defensive campaign last season where he averaged 9.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and .9 steals.
Claxton would end up being tied for ninth in the defensive player of the year voting last season. He is going to have another great defensive year for next season. He is going to be in the back end of the conversation but if the Nets have a great year, he is going to be a serious threat to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
Dark horse Most Valuable Player candidate: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
The NBA Most Valuable Player, the Michael Jordan Trophy, is awarded to the player who had the best season. Usually, the player who wins the MVP has phenomenal regular and advanced statistics and their team also has a top-five record during the regular season.
For the last three seasons, the top three finalists have been Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who are among the favorites to win it again this year. One of the most talented players in the league is left out which is why Anthony Davis is a strong dark horse MVP candidate.
Anthony Davis put up MVP-caliber numbers last season where he averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2 blocks while shooting a career-high 56.3 percent from the field, and 78.4 percent from the free throw line.
Davis is going to have another year similar to what he had last year. There are two factors that may prevent him from winning the MVP. The first being is sometimes widely inconsistent with his performances where he often has 30 points and 15 rebounds one night and the next game he has 15 points and seven rebounds.
The second and main reason is that Davis is always hurt. The NBA put in a rule where a player has to play at least 65 games in order to be eligible for any of the awards and the All-NBA teams. Davis hasn't played in more than 65 games in an 82 game season since 2018.
Assuming Davis' health and consistency holds up, he is going to be without question in the middle of the MVP conversation. His numbers will be in direct correlation to the Lakers winning and if they have a top five record in the league, Davis' two-way ability will allow him to potentially win the MVP.
